crap...it bothers me when i finally find time/energy to blog and my mind's too fatigued to spit out anything i'd consider worth reading. ah well, that's what photos are for i suppose. let's just go w/ the most recent events.
Junky & Tina stopped by "l'hotel Raphael" in Mori-G for the weekend.
enjoy:
(Arrival - Saturday night)

first things first: dessert!

mischief-makers reunited @ the Hemp Bar

a chillin' rooftop in Mori-G

some late night yakitori
(Sunday - more adventures...)

soba breakfast

cruising in the hood is good...look what i picked up?

it just keeps getting better...

geeks in Osaka

the famous takoyaki(octopus balls), almost too hot to handle

2 of Japan's current "hot commodities"

slow food? that is unacceptable

tataki at my fingertips...now that's what i'm talkin' about

(...insert comment here...)

and finally, sake & Kobe beef...on the floor.
twas a good weekend indeed.
OH! i almost forgot...i am indebted to this visit b/c it was during this time that i was finally able to identify the Mysterious (and highly friggin annoying) Midnight Karaoke Man.
about 2-3 weeks after moving in here, i started noticing a faint (at first) voice that would pierce the air nearly every other night at about 2300. no music/tv accompanying it though, just a voice. in Japanese. uttering anything from serenades/ballads to "speedy" songs that sounded like weak Japanese rap.
it was tolerable (even amusing) at first, but you gotta understand...this guy just BELTS it sometimes...and he keeps on going. and going. sometimes i'll fall asleep to him crooning at midnight...and i'll wake up at 0400 and he'd still be at it.
i've been trying to find out who the baka is...i'd assumed he was below me somewhere b/c that's where the sound seemed to come from, but there were other people below me who i knew weren't singing so i figured he was from a nearby building, and despite my ears being able to hear his banshee voice so perfectly...i couldn't get a location.
that is, until now. >=]
seing as how they were the first overnight visitors at "l'hotel Raphael", i warned my 2 guests about the MKM, and they were highly anticipating his performance. sure enough, on their second night here he delivered...and more importantly, we found out where he lives.
the bastard lives DIRECTLY above me. #302!!
i had an empty pop bottle that i had saved on my balcony JUST FOR HIM, so i launched it up right away after we ID'd him after perusing my balcony during a midnight serenade. if you look closely you can actually SEE his shadow moving on the neighbouring building's wall as he sings.
i swear, this dude must be wearing headphones or something; my aluminum can made all this clanging/clattering as it bounced off his balcony, off the glass door, off the railing (and almost falling back down) and finally onto his balcony floor...and all it accomplished was a few seconds of silence before he started singing again.
so we went back inside and nailed the ceiling a few times...buddy stops for a bit, runs to check his door (he probably couldn't hear but felt the knocking and thought someone was visiting. probably a "fan")...closes it and resumes his bellowing.
it'd been a long day and i had no time to do anything else, but the important thing is that i know who my enemy is. that's written in some important book right? "know thy enemy"...or something like that. right? yeah...so whether i just keep on tossing up bottles every time i hear him screeching at night (and hopefully he'll get the idea when he notices a small pile forming), or it comes to me going up and knocking and coming face-to-face w/ this cacophonical cheeseball...at least i have a target. muahahahaha...that makes me feel good.
ok, he's not singing tonight. better take this opportunity and get a good night's sleep.
sayonara...